What rink do you skate? I know most of the Wolverines (Detroit's speed team) have moved to inlines, but the coaches have been around long enough to know something about quads or know people who do. Wheels are dependent upon skating surface too, so local feedback on that would be best. Although if you do happen to go to a particular rink up there I can tell you that hard wheels will work just fine because they coat the floor 3-4 times a year, so it is always sticky.

Also, no quad skater is keeping up with inline speed skaters of the same caliber. I can pull away from the kids I coach easily while they are on inlines and I am quads. They're relatively competitive in the novice age divisions regionally (aged 11-14). Put me up against my actual competition and I lose about a second a lap on a good day.

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You don't improve by training until it hurts; you improve by training after it hurts.

You will probably want to go with a light plate, especially if you will be speed skating with them at all.
Keeping in mind that the plate the most important decision you can make. It is the suspension of your skate much like the suspension of a car. If you have a sports car body on the suspension of a minivan....it will still corner like jello even though it looks like a sports car. If you want a sports car (skate), don't buy a minivan suspension. What that sports car (skate) suspension looks like differs from person to person.
I love my Prolines. I love them so much I now have 2 sets. Stability at speed, tough as nails, reliable, light, set it and forget it.....perfect. For me they are perfect. They are 6.5 with green cushions paired with a Bont size 9.

As far as wheels - duro depends on what you skate on and how much slip and grip you want. Width depends on personal preference and comfort level. I would however have to highly recomend going with a metal hub wheel, much less mush in the corners. I believe aluminum hubbed wheels to be far superior to a non-metal hubbed wheel.

Keep in mind that if you like a stiff suspension a Laser can't be torqued down very tight. (At least on the ones I had) The threads the king-pin screws in to are just the nylon, so they can jump threads. I've heard of people putting in steel threads (which I would expect would require a smaller thread king pin, otherwise you're losing a lot of the material around the threads, which makes up the base of the plate... but, I just shrugged at the guy that suggested it and let it go), but I wouldn't.

I know, I know, leave your suspension loose... It's just info for people that are expecting certain things.

I always skate outdoors, for training and Skate Marathons. I use a Sure-Grip Avenger Mag plates, and I'm very happy with them. I can mount wheels like the Kryptonics Classic K 85mm or the FlyWheels 90mm, and both of them works very good for skating ourdoors. My boot is a Bont Hybrid Carbon.

One friend, requested an Arius plate, and he is also very happy with them: the Arius work very well and is very light. He is currently mounting a set of Kryptonics Classic K 76mm wheels, and the Riedell 265 boot. We plan to test the Arius with 80mm wheels, to make sure if we could mount them for the next Skate Marathons.

Both plates are good choices. You can skate at 50kmh without any problem in downhills. Even faster in bigger downhills.

One thing about the Arius plate, it does NOT like impacting loads of bad roads. Its faster than a mag avenger if you ask me as its speed goes, since it swings on a much more precise angle. The axles run a bit more true than DA45's that I've seen/handled.

It is also considerably lighter than the mag avenger. A 193mm wheelbase weighs in at 359g with a plastic plug in the toestop boss and all stock components , sans wheels of course.

If you wanted to race quads, I would do a QRC, Arius plate, bont fxx/royal assassins with micro bearings. Or you could make good use of 98A zombie mid's, good cores on the zombie line, RBT'S are pretty good too.

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Home rink: Roll-A-Rama in Huntington Wv.
"Focus on form and speed is a byproduct, focus on speed and falling is a byproduct." - Matguy

Thanks, everyone! Still not sure what I'll do about plate yet. May go Proline. Dunno if I wanna drop $500.

I found some White Shamans. I don't think they're the old kind but they aren't super new.

I do skate at Great Skate where the Wolverines skate. I have inlines as well and wanted to take some lessons but never got around to it. I do have a lot of free time on my hands (feet?) nowadays so I will be able to skate more. I have been going there as long as I can remember. We celebrated my 10th bday there I'm in my early 30s now. I'll post a pic once I get them all set up. I'll have to search for how to mount the plates cos I have no idea!

I do like the idea of the Arius, but I have never tried one. I'm happy enough on the Proline not to drop the money on new gear - at least until I graduate and get a real job. There are Proline clones that should skate similarly for a little less money. I think the Reactor is one of them, but someone should check me on that.

As far as boots go I have heard very good things about the Bonts. Just make sure to measure your foot against their sizing chart since their sizes do not match shoe sizes perfectly (and most people wear shoes that are too big - a problem that is problematic with skates). I personally skate the Riedell 595s. If you go that route take the time to break them in properly. That means overtightening them for short periods of time while you are at home and using your hands to work the leather back and forth. Something like an alcohol bath can shorten the break in time drastically, but it also shortens the life of the boots.

Great Skate is the place that coats multiple times a year, so you can get away with getting harder wheels that roll more. You don't need the soft ones to stick. White Shamans are pretty good out of the box, but mine didn't last as long as other wheels I have had. My blue Cannibals are much better on that front, but you would probably want the orange ones. The last orange Cannibals I had were made 15 years ago, so things have changed since then.

I do weight 170+ lbs. right now. If you are significantly lighter you won't have to worry as much about the wear on the wheels, and you might end up wanting a wheel a touch softer than my recommendations.

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You don't improve by training until it hurts; you improve by training after it hurts.

Thanks, everyone! Still not sure what I'll do about plate yet. May go Proline. Dunno if I wanna drop $500.

If you do decide on a Proline, I would personally recommend spending the time to track down an OG Proline, rather than buying a "new" Proline. The quality control and fit & finish is much better on the "old school" vs. the "new school" plate. Even after replacing the cushions and maybe some misc. hardware (if needed), you can still get on an OG Proline for less than the cost of a new one, and IMO you're getting a better plate.

The Proline sounds like it's exactly what you are looking for, it's super lightweight, precise and durable. You'll never have to worry about looking for another plate again.
I would argue that the new Proline has a great quality control system as we make them right here in-house and oversee production the whole way through.

They are a more expensive plate, but as Fancy-Kerrigan said, you don't wanna go high quality on a boot, and then go cheaper on the plate. Prolines are time-tested and proven to be one of the highest quality plates out there.
I'm obviously going to recommend the Proline, but if you are interested don't hesitate to shoot me any questions.

I, as well as LabedaRD, agree with Fancy (she's my wife so I had better not disagree lol) with the logic of the boot/plate scenario.

I have a few plates in my arsenal to choose from when I go out. I have a Powertrac, Advantage, Roll Line Driver, Ultimate III and of course a Proline. On any day for doing whatever any of these guys will get the job done. If it's speed you're after my preference would be the KP angles the Powertrac, UIII and Proline have to offer. And here I would probably choose the Proline.

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Genesis 12:2-3
"My neighbors listen to good music whether they like it or not"

I would argue that the new Proline has a great quality control system as we make them right here in-house and oversee production the whole way through.

Always nice to see the manufacturer speak up about their product!

Since you brought it up...
- Does "in-house" mean that you have your own CNC shop to do the machine work?
- Are trucks, axles, and other hardware being made (or at least being finished) in-house as well?
- When you say "oversee production the whole way through", does this mean the plate is assembled somewhere else, with Labeda supervision, or is it assembled in-house as well?

I'm a helicopter mechanic with experience at two different helicopter OEMs; in my experience, "oversee production" means something very different than "make in-house". Not trying to start an argument, just looking for clarification.

Thanks for engaging in this conversation; I think there's at least a few of us who will be looking forward to your response.

I also suggest that the PowerTrac plates are very good choice for a metal speed plate. Their unique reversed pivot pin keeps the suspension action closer too the floor than almost any other plates do.

The Nova fiber reinforced nylon, box beam plates are also very affordable, lightweight and adequately stiff plate option, especially if well mounted to a stiff sole boot.
It may not be so good for heavier skaters though, without a carbon fiber sole boot.

Maybe because I skimmed the comments, but I didn't see a lot of wheel advice. I know there are a lot out there, but I would say the type of wheel you want depends on your weight and the rink floor coating. I don't know if you are interested in light wheels or wheels with a strong hub to support you. That will guide your wheel shopping too. If you want to save some money, there are some decent priced wheels through Atom like the low-boys, strokers, etc that will be good for you. If you want to really be competitive, you'll have to try out other wheels to see what works for you. Shamans, Power Plus, etc are popular. Anabolix wheels were all the rage but they don't seem to be selling them anymore, so you'd have to look for used ones that someone is selling off and regroove them if you care about grooves on your wheels. Does Great Skate sell wheels? They probably have some good info from their own dealers. Good luck!!

I can't personally advise you on plates, I run novas at the moment and am having some issues, so I too am looking to upgrade. I will most likely be going with the powertrac or the proline, not yet sure which one..

As far as wheels, again my experience is somewhat limited but I use the sure grip power plus wheels and cannot say a single bad word about them, these wheels roll smoothly and have never, not once let go on me. I'm a heavier guy at about 220 lbs but these wheels will hook the corners like nobody's business! Highly recommend them.

I know powertrac and proline are still the go-to plate of choice, and I agree Lasers are a good choice for lightness and cost (although like all else I think the older originals might be better made than the new ones)... I notice no one has mentioned the carbon fiber plates yet... There's always the Kickin Edge plates if you want something light and flexible (has DA45 trucks which are pretty maneuverable for speed). I've found better reviews for those plates than other carbon fiber quad plates being sold right now. (not a bad price either) The words "Derby" get thrown around a lot for those plates, but they work great for speed too. Just wanted to mention that in case you wanted to know as many options as you could. Taking time for research on all your options is never a bad thing.

Keep in mind that if you like a stiff suspension a Laser can't be torqued down very tight. (At least on the ones I had) The threads the king-pin screws in to are just the nylon, so they can jump threads. I've heard of people putting in steel threads (which I would expect would require a smaller thread king pin, otherwise you're losing a lot of the material around the threads, which makes up the base of the plate... but, I just shrugged at the guy that suggested it and let it go), but I wouldn't.

I know, I know, leave your suspension loose... It's just info for people that are expecting certain things.

Torquing down your suspension is not really the best way to accomplish action setup firmness. Firmer cushions is what give the best results for having a firmer action setup. Once your action nut takes up all the truck's looseness wiggle, you only want to go about a turn further.

Laser plates, despite their being nylon, are simply way too heavy. Their narrowness also means that when mounting on leather soles the boot still rocks laterally on the plate too much, even with the too-thin sole and heel platforms screwed to the sole. Their use of heavy (1/4") elevator bolts going through the centerline of the plate for mounting is extremely ineffective for establishing lateral flex rigidity between them.

The 45 degree steeper action plates, like Avenger and Arius, are less stable than the 0-15 degree steep kingpin (shallower action) plates like PowerTrac, Boen, ProLine etc. Stability is an important feature to have in a speed skate when taking turns at the highest possible speeds.

Good boot choice. I have a pair of the same boots that are going on 12 years old and still look really good and don't have any tears in the inner lining.

For plates, I run a set of Roll-Line Mistrals. My wife runs a set of Roll-Line Drivers. Both plates have been flawless. I'm a heavier skater at 210 pounds and she is a light skater at 115-120 pounds (depending on the day ).

I run firm cushions in my plate and hers are a light cushion. I use my skates for higher speed shuffle skating and they're very stable and agile.

I run a set of original green Hyper Shamans, which are extremely hard to come by now. I believe they're either 96a or 97a durometer.

I also run a Mistral (though I didn't know it when I bought them in a complete used skate on ebay; they weren't labeled well at all, thought it was a Driver.)

I was 225lbs when I got 'em, 200 now. They're a bit heavier than I was used to, but I had only had plastic/nylon plates before this (Hard Candy and Laser), though I was also lighter then. They're very sturdy, though. They had the clear cushions when I got them and haven't bothered to change them, but they're a bit softer than I like.

I generally skate speed, but it's not like I seriously race on quads anymore. In fact, I don't think I've been on 'em since the speed team's Christmas Party. If I was trying to race on them I'd switch out the cushions to something firmer... but I've been focusing on inline.

I use Power Plus Red's (soft/grippy) and they're a bit too soft and grippy. I might mix in my wife's Purple +'s since she was saying she wanted a bit more grip than she was getting. 90% of the wheel choice for her was based on color and an aluminum hub. She didn't like the feel of any of the plastic hub wheels I had, but loved my +'s other than they were a bit soft on the roll... and no, I'm not disclosing her weight.